Swipe
Swipes by Speedy .

Swipe, power move, rotation of the upper body supported by the legs followed by a rotation of the lower body supported by the arms.

Contents
  1. History
  2. Variations
  3. Examples
  4. References

History

The swipe is one of the oldest power moves, entering breaking in the mid-1970s. It was developed by Spy around 1978 (Guzman-Sanchez gives "late 1976" ), evolving from the two step . The Zulus1 were also known to do swipes around this time, according to BOM5 . Mr. Freeze recalls seeing swipes in 1979 . It is mentioned in the first news article on breaking in 1981 . Beat Street features both the one-leg and two-leg variations .

A dance move resembling swipes is performed in the 1942 "Soundie" Caravan .

Variations

Baby Swipe

v. two step

Elbow Swipe

Also forearm swipe. Swipe on the forearms.

Head Swipe

v. track

One-Hand Swipe

Also one-arm swipe. Swipe where only one arm touches the ground.

One-Leg Swipe

Swipe where only one leg touches the ground.

Top Swipe

Also up swipe. Swipe started from a standing position.

Two-Leg Swipe

Swipe where both legs touch the ground nearly simultaneously.

Footnotes

  1. Referring to the b-boys and b-girls in the nascent Zulu Nation, i.e. the Zulu Masters, Zulu Kings, Zulu Queens, Shaka Zulus, etc. .

References